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Ruth Patrick

Ruth Patrick

The Conversation

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Over 1.6 million children live in families made poorer by the two-child limit on benefits – new data

The two child limit and benefit cap leave many families living with extreme financial insecurity.

10.07.2025 4

The Conversation

Ruth Patrick

Cuts and caps to benefits have always harmed people, not helped them into work

Many of the measures already implemented to reduce government spending have actually pushed people further away from the labour market.

14.03.2025 5

The Conversation

Ruth Patrick

Child poverty needs action from across the UK, not just Scotland

When John Swinney, made tackling child poverty his number one priority, he was – perhaps deliberately – setting Holroyd on a rather different...

19.02.2025 6

Herald Scotland

Ruth Patrick

Any hope of ‘getting Britain working again’ must not demonise people on welfare

Sometime this autumn, the UK government is expected to publish its plan to “get Britain working again”. The new administration certainly faces a...

13.11.2024 3

The Conversation

Ruth Patrick

How Labour can shift the dial on welfare

In the run-up to the UK budget, Labour has been trailing just how perilous the Government’s finances are; seeking to prepare the country for what...

23.10.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Ruth Patrick

The UK’s two-child benefit limit has rightly caused outrage. But another cruel policy needs urgent attention

This morning, about 300,000 children woke up in households affected by the benefit cap. Lots of these children – enough to fill more than 1,000...

17.09.2024 4

The Guardian

Ruth Patrick